General Pershing Zephyr: Difference between revisions

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[[File:General Pershing Zephyr-Silver Charger - 20081123.jpg|thumb|9908 ''Silver Charger'' on display in 2008]]

The '''''General Pershing Zephyr''''' was the ninth of the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]]'s [[Burlington Zephyr|''Zephyr'']] [[streamliner]]s, and the last built as an integrated streamliner rather than a train hauled by an [[EMD E-unit]] [[diesel locomotive]]. It was constructed in [[1939]] with bodywork and passenger cars by [[Budd Company]] and [[diesel engine]], [[Diesel-electric transmission|electric transmission]], power [[bogie|truck]], and other locomotive equipment by [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro-Motive Corporation]]. Because its intended [[Kansas City, Missouri]] to [[St. Louis, Missouri]] route passed near the birthplace and boyhood home of famous [[World War I]] [[General]] [[John J. Pershing]], the train was named after him. The power car was named ''Silver Charger'', after Pershing's horse ''Charger'', while the passenger cars were named after [[U.S. Army]] badges of rank—''Silver Leaf'', ''Silver Eagle'', and ''Silver Star''.

Unlike previous ''Zephyrs'', the ''General Pershing Zephyr'' was completely non-articulated; each car was self-contained and joined to the next by [[coupling (railway)|coupler]]s, rather than shared trucks. The inflexibility of the articulated layout had been recognised; it was hard to lengthen, shorten, or replace parts of the train. The route did not require a high-capacity train nor a powerful locomotive, so the ''General Pershing Zephyr'' returned to the pattern of the first ''[[Pioneer Zephyr]]'', being a power/baggage car and three trailers.

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The power car, 9908 ''Silver Charger'', was unique. It utilised a single new EMC 567 [[V12 engine|V-12]] engine developing 1,000 hp, rather than the pair used in the contemporary [[EMC E3]]. It had one [[Martin Blomberg]]-designed E-unit A1A passenger truck at the front, with powered outer axles and a center idler axle, and an unpowered trailing truck, giving it the unusual [[wheel arrangement]] of A1A-2. The back half of the power car was a baggage area.

The train ran its assigned route until the United States entered [[World War II]], during which time the trainset ran on many different routes. As 9908 ''Silver Charger'' could be detached from its trainset, it continued in service hauling other trains after the rest of the streamlined trainset was withdrawn. In this form it lasted in service until [[1966]], following which it was donated to the [[Museum of Transportation]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri]].

Traveling between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri required the ''General Pershing Zephyr'' to operate on tracks owned by the [[Alton Railroad]], officially making them an operating partner. To symbolize this joint administration, the ''General Pershing Zephyr'' often sported an "Alton Burlington" nose herald instead of the standard "Burlington Route" seen on most Burlington locomotives.

The diner-lounge-observation car ''Silver Star'' was sold to [[AMAX Iron Ore Corporation]] in [[1974]] and given to [[Mt Newman Mining]] (now part of [[BHP Billiton]]) in [[Western Australia]] and renamed ''Sundowner''. It was used for many years as passenger accommodation on the fortnightly supply train to the mines. As at [[2006]], it is still used for [[Very Important Person|VIP]] and inspection trains.

== References ==